When the 20-year-old tried to get out of the car, he allegedly pulled a gun, bound her hands, covered her head and took her to the grey-blue trailer home behind the church.

The report said he later dropped the woman in a wooded area, threatening to shoot her if she turned around.

Police said the woman was able to identify Richardson from his picture on the church website, which also displays a short biography detailing how he became a Christian and then a pastor.

Richardson has since been charged with two other similar sexual assaults, both of which occurred last year.

He is accused of bringing one of those women to the church trailer. The third woman claims she was raped in a wooded area outside nearby Summerville, which is about 20 miles north west of Charleston.

He is also charged with kidnapping a fourth woman.

Richardson said little last week when, dressed in a grey-and-white striped prison jump suit with his ankles and wrists shackled, he appeared before a Dorchester County magistrate.

He said he understood the charges against him and was denied bond when the magistrate said he was a danger to society.

Richardson's public defender said it's too soon to comment on the case.

During his initial bond hearing when he was first arrested, Richardson said he has a spotless record and will put up a strong defence.

Maj. John Garrison, of the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office, said serial rape cases are unusual in the area.

He said this case is drawing particular interest because the suspect is a preacher.

Most neighbours on the quiet cul-de-sac where Richardson lived in a neat yellow house refused to talk last week.

But Mary Milligan, who lives two doors away, came to Richardson's defence.

Modest: The Freedom Free Will Baptist Church in Ladson where Dale Richardson has served as pastor for the past year

She said: 'I don't believe any of this. I have never had a problem with him.

'He's kind. He's a member of this community. He mows the neighbours' lawns. I am just blown away by all these accusations.'

There was no one home at the Richardson residence, where a paving stone beside the walkway is inscribed 'Believe in God. Believe also in me. John 14:1.'

The church website says Richardson became pastor of the church on June 9, 2010.

It says he graduated from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, the college founded by evangelical preacher Jerry Falwell, and has a wife and two grown-up daughters.

But his name has now been removed from the sign outside the church that has a congregation of about 50 people.

Those attending last Wednesday night's service who were willing to be interviewed did not condemn Richardson.

Virginia Davis, who has been attending the church about a year, said: 'He's always been a real sweet person. He's always taught God's word.

'He's been honest with me since Day 1. I'd let him look me right in the face and tell me he did it, because I don't believe he did it.'

The Rev. Dean Mandrell, who has been helping by preaching at one of the church's three weekly services, said the congregation has drawn closer.

He said: 'Nobody is leaving, they are staying right here. They are just worshipping God. They are not condemning. They are not tearing down or poor-mouthing or bad-mouthing him.'

The South Carolina Free Will Baptist State Association has suspended Richardson's preaching credentials pending the outcome of the investigations because 'the misconduct alleged against him is forbidden by God.'

The Rev. Todd Smith, executive director of the statewide association numbering almost 120 churches, said in a statement that the association would cooperate with investigators.